Is Anyone Out There? (Open)

[Nonie Savage]

She had to keep moving. If she stopped now, they'd catch her. God, how long had they even been chasing her?! Why hadn't they lost interest already? But she couldn't dwell on that. Just run Nonie run! Which was exactly what she was doing, racing away from the still following band of drunks who'd taken some form of fascination with her and decided to followed her. Nonie was sure it wasn't the good kind of fascination. Actually, Nonie didn't want anyone to have any sort of fascination with her. She'd much rather be alone and forgotten with the rest of her homeless kin. But these men.... These monster were still after her. She had no idea how long she had been running of even where she had truly been going. She just picked a road and followed it.

She was huffing in ragged gasps now, pushing herself to flee as adrenaline fueled her long flight from these beasts tailing her. Yet she was starting to drain, and she knew it. It was always worse when they caught you after you ran. They usually liked to punish you for running. Nonie had seen it happen time and time again back home. The fear of that propelled her forward even faster towards... Anywhere else.

But soon something came into view. A wall and a fancy gate. The gate was shut, and it was too hard to see what the sign above it read. Too late in the night. But Nonie could make out the wall, could see how big it was. Maybe if she scaled that, the men wouldn't follow her? She wasn't sure, but it was well worth the try. Better to risk it and possibly escape than to give up now and certainly get hurt. So Nonie poured on speed, heading for the wall and looking for someplace that seemed good enough to climb. No where seemed good enough, but Nonie had dealt with harder.

Soon enough she found a spot and quickly started scrambling up the wall, her fingers aching as she scaled it. There were slurred and angry shouts behind her, but Nonie just used that to fuel the icy cold fuel channeling through her. Climb Nonie! There was no time for doubt! So she scaled it and soon reached the top, not even bothering to look back as she flipped over to the other side and landed with a thud and a pained grunt on the other side. The harsh landing had her falling onto her back and taking away what little breath she still had. Yet she shakily forced herself to stand, greedily gasping in air as she stumbled her way away from the wall and towards some giant lit up building. Surely there was a place she could hide somewhere near there! Some place no one would look! And no one was probably looking for some forgettable homeless girl anyways.

The voices still came from the other side, closer now. It pushed Nonie to push herself and keep moving, even though her legs ached. Eventually her body had had enough and she simply collapsed into a bush, drained of any and all energy. As she panted, wheezing slightly, she glanced around nervously with her eyes. Lucky for her, it seemed the group of men hadn't followed her, finally give up the Chase. Letting out something mixed between a broken sob and a choked laugh, Nonie sagged into the branches of the plant life she had chosen to fall onto, her body sagging now with relief yet shaking with the adrenaline coursing out of her system and being replaced instead with fatigue.

She shut her eyes, focusing on regaining her strength and her breath. Which was probably why she didn't hear someone nearby.

[Casey Pryor]

Casey was tired. Like almost drop dead tired. She still hadn't quite figured out how to hold in and preserve energy inside herself to get her through the days before and after the new moon, not to mention the new moon night itself. So when she went to bed earlier that night she had been out like a light. 

~~Casey woke in a dark room and panic flooded her. She couldn't see ANYTHING. There were no windows, no outline of a door with light peeking in. Just darkness. She stood up and reached out her hands, took a step, and felt a wall. It took a only a few minutes to follow the outline of the wall all around the room. It was tiny. Worse, there was no door. How was that possible? She reached up her hands towards the ceiling but didn't feel anything. She jumped, hoping her fingers would scrape against the top. Maybe there was a hatch. But again she didn't feel anything. Casey's breath shortened, a cold sweat chilled her. She screamed. "HELLO, IS SOMEONE THERE? ANYONE? HELP ME!" She fell down against the ground, tears streaking down her face.~~

"Aaahh!" Casey sat up, fighting with her sheets and blanket, tightly wrapped around her, eventually falling to the floor, but free of her blankets. A soft sob escaped her as her nightmare came back to her. She didn't usually remember her dreams and they hardly ever woke her up if they were bad. She rubbed her eyes and had the sudden urge to get outside. 

It took her a bit for her eyes to adjust once she was outside, but soon Casey was walking the grounds slowly, letting the silence of the night calm her. The darkness outside was welcome compared to the darkness she remembered in her nightmare. Something so thick she couldn't see her hand right before her face, not even a vague outline. She shuddered, finally pushing it to the back of her mind, for it to fall away into nothingness. The sooner the better. 

Suddenly Casey stopped, hearing a weird sound on the other side of the wall she was currently walking near. She quickly found a tree and hid behind it, looking around wondering where the night patrol students or teachers were. Surely they were close enough to hear the scrabbling. Casey peeked out from behind the tree in time to see a large shape, looked like a person, fall to the ground from the top of the wall. She winced in sympathy hearing the thud. Her head whipped to the wall again as she could vaguely hear voices on the other side approaching the wall at a rapid pace. 'so, whoever it is that just fell is being chased,' Casey thought, quickly wondering which party was the bad one. She stayed put as she heard the guys get to the wall. It sounded like one was trying to climb it but was very clumsy and after some swearing and an obviously drunk argument the group turned and left. 

Casey let go of the breath she had been holding and turned back to where the other person had fallen, only for them to not be there. Cursing herself Casey stepped out from the tree and walked to the exact spot the person had fallen. She looked around, trying to think like that person. She surmised that they were the good guy and was probably just scared and looking for help. Her eyes fell on the lit building just a bit ahead and started in that direction.  Not to far ahead she spotted some legs sticking out of a bush. "Hello," she called out tentatively, not wanting to scare the person by just appearing quietly out of no where. Finally she stood in front of said bush and stared down  at a girl with red hair, 'very very red hair. I'm actually kind of jealous,' Casey thought. "Um..." Casey looked around hesitantly, not sure what she should do really, "are you okay?"

[Nonie Savage]

Even though she tried not to scare Nonie, the girl still flinched at the sudden voice. Had one of them made it over the wall? But no, this voice was female. Nonie was pretty sure the group that had been chasing her was all males. So who was the girl? Maybe it was someone who lived here! Panic filled the redhead at the thought, but she was still too exhausted to run again. She did, however, manage to sit up a little and pull her hood lower to better conceal her face.

It was a girl, as Nonie expected. She seemed very unsure of herself, even looking around before asking if Nonie was alright. The redhead debated if she should say anything, but she had already mostly likely made quite the entrance. Which did make Nonie wonder if the girl had seen her climb the wall. Dread settled in her stomach at the thought, but finally she gulped and nodded. "I-I'm ok." She said, her breath returned enough for her to answer. She still needed to get out of there though. But then again, what if the men were still there? Nonie had to face it:

She was stuck.

[Casey Pryor]

Casey leaned over a bit, to try and get a better look at the girls face, but from her angle it was still too much in shadow and covered. She saw a bit of chin and lips and that was about it. Casey glanced around again, then knelt down and gave a shy, nervous smile. "I didn't think our walls were climbable. Then again maybe I just don't have the coordination. Also, I've actually never tried it. Why were you climbing the walls? The gates...oh they're probably closed and locked at this time of night. Why are you out so late. Well then again, so am I..." Casey trailed off, realizing she was kind of rambling.

She gave a small shrug and an apologetic smile, glancing back at the wall. "I heard the other guys, they tried to climb over too, but they couldn't do it. It sounded like they were leaving, but maybe not. I came to check on you instead of waiting to see if they really had."

[Nonie Savage]

The girl crouched down in front of Nonie, which made the redhead pull her hood even lower. Thank god it was night out; made concealing her face that much easier. The girl herself seemed pretty shy from the smile she gave Nonie. According to the girl, the walls weren't expected to be climbable, or at least she had never tried. Then she started asking questions and Nonie felt panic start creeping up on her. The girl rambled on before trailing of and shrugging.

When she mentioned hearing the men who had been chasing her, Nonie's eyes widened and she whipped her head towards the wall for a moment. They had tried to climb?! But, no.... the girl was saying they didn't make it over. She couldn't hear any noises either, and the two girls seemed to be alone. She could breath easier for that part at least. She's rather take her chances with this random girl.

"I.... They were chasing me." She finally admitted, deciding to tell the trust. "B-but I'm fine now.... really."

[Casey Pryor]

The girl seemed quite comfortable in the bushes. And also even shyer then Casey herself. She cringed herself when she heard that those guys had been chasing her. She couldn't imagine what that type of fear felt like. Casey wondered how long she'd been running, but also didn't want to keep talking about it. It was obviously a very rough ordeal. "Well there are usually people who walk the grounds. Security and such. If those guys are still around out there, they'll get whats coming to them. I'm sure they're around somewhere. But don't worry, you're fine. I don't think they'd let just anyone climb over the wall if they felt it would be a danger to us students." 

Casey sat flat on her bum and folded her legs. She had the strongest urge to befriend this girl and help her out. Shy girls had to to stick together after all. "I'm Casey, and just in case you didn't know where you ended up, this is Bellefonte Academy. Really one of the safest places to be away from jerks and creeps, which is obviously what those guys were. I'm glad to hear you're okay though," she said with a smile, though a bit nervous and worried as to what her reaction to where she was would be. Did she know it was a mutant school? 

[Nonie Savage]

According to the girl there were usually security people out here? While part of her was relieved by the fact that the men could be caught and hauled away, Nonie was also terrified that she might be hauled away by the very same people. She really had to get out of there! Even if the girl was assuring her she would be fine, Nonie wasn't so sure. Someone was going to come around the corner any minute now.

When she mentioned her name, Nonie felt her stomach hit the ground in dread. Giving names often meant someone expected to meet again. However, she hadn't asked Nonie for her own name yet, so Nonie was fine moving on without giving it at all. Casey mentioned the name of this place, but it didn't ring any bells. She said she was glad Nonie was ok, which did make the girl glance at Casey and smile just a little back. "T-thanks. But I should...... Really be going now"

[Casey Pryor]

Casey was relieved there wasn't any extra reaction to the schools name, she wasn't sure what she would have done if the girl did have a bad reaction. Then again the girl was so nervous and looked so so tense she wasn't sure she'd recognize if there was any other reaction. She also noticed, a bit sadly, that the girl didn't offer her name in exchange. And then she said she wanted to go.Casey frowned, rubbing her arms from the chill starting to settle in. "Well, Red, I'm going to call you Red cause you don't feel okay giving me your name, which is fine, but the only way out I know is the gate, and its shut and locked for the night and you don't look well enough to climb a wall again and what if those guys are still out there somewhere?" she said worriedly.

She glanced around, and still not seeing anyone else, made a decision, "Look, why don't you come back with me to my room? You can sleep in there, I'll take the floor if you're not comfortable sharing, and that way you don't have to do some crazy gymnastics to get out of here," she said matter-of-factly, then a bit more shyly, "Warmth, a soft cozy bed and maybe...friendship? That's not to bad of an offer?" 

[Nonie Savage]

The girl seemed a little relieved for some reason, but Nonie wasn't about to start asking questions or anything. She just wanted to get out of there but also avoid the group of men that had been chasing her. How long would it take for them to return to town and be long gone? Nonie had no idea, but she hoped it was soon. The long she spent with this girl, the more likely the girl would form a memory of her. She was even giving Nonie a name, which made a flick of fear graze her heart. Casey pointed out what Nonie had been thinking with regards to the men. As Casey mentioned Nonie might not be able to rescale the wall, it was as if someone had dropped a pile of bricks on her.

She was suddenly exhausted, and realized just how fast she had been running away from the group of men. They had made her sprint for a long distance too, and only her adrenaline had been keeping her going. Which was why the offer to stay in the girl's room for the night both terrified and tempted Nonie. And as she went on about a warm bed, Nonie couldn't help but imagine what that must feel like. Yet her last bit made Nonie's eyes widen incredibly.

"F-friendship?" She repeated, clearly having heard the girl wrong or something. "I-I, ah... wait no.. you... I mean.... I mean I'm just a homeless person you wouldn't want to be friends with me right? I mean I just came in here chased by a group of drunks and all and I'm pretty sure I'm probably trespassing because why else would you guys have a wall that high if not to keep out intruders? Um, n-not meaning I'm here to steal anything I just was running away and headed for the first place i could and this happened to be it I swear." She said quickly, stumbled over her words as she rambled. Then she realized she was rambling and blushed a little, taking a step back. "A-Ah.... s-sorry. I didn't mean to....." She trailed off, her voice getting as quiet as a mouse.

She was really scared now, almost like a highly skittish critter curling up in on itself yet ready to run at a second's disturbance.

[Casey Pryor]

Casey held her breath, her own nerves taking hold. Her heart hammered against her chest and she felt flushed. It was just an offer of friendship, but for Casey, putting herself out there like that, when she was just barely starting her transition away from super shyness, was a huge step for her. She also realized that what she'd asked was a little lame. 'Wanna be my friend? What am I? like 6?' When Red started stammering and saying no, Casey felt a huge drop in her stomach. Her eyes watered and her nose itched. 'Oh god, this is not a good reason to start crying,' she thought furiously to herself. 

Before any tears actually leaked out though, the rest of what Red had said got through her own bundle of nerves. Her eyes widened a little, any thought of crying gone. She opened and closed her mouth a few times as she processed it. Casey's face firmed up but she smiled. "Why wouldn't I want to be friends with you? Homeless or not, you're still obviously awesome. I mean seriously, you managed to run who knows how far and how long from creeps and scale a wall. I don't think I could scale a wall ever, even if I had guys chasing me too." She glanced at the walls, "And while you're probably technically trespassing, I think its mostly there to help protect the students. A lot of rich kids come here after all and while you're not a student, you need protecting, at least for the rest of the night, so I'd say you qualify in being here. Also, don't apologize," Casey said, with a soft smile, "There is nothing to be sorry for."

Casey was raised to reach out and help others in need and Red was in need. Besides, the girl just looked so interesting and Casey really wanted a friend. Devyn was pretty much her closest and only friend at the moment. Though she hoped she wasn't coming on too strongly.

[Nonie Savage]

When Nonie started speaking, she noticed how the girl's expression dropped and tears seemed to fill her vision. She didn't mean to make the girl cry! It only made her ramble even worse until finally she stopped and stared at the ground hard. There was a bit of silence and Nonie felt increasingly uncomfortable and scared before finally the girl spoke. And when she did, Nonie's silver eyes flew upwards in shock. Her? Awesome? Those two words did not seem like they should be in the same sentence, or even near each other. Not if they were talking about Nonie. But still the praise managed to make Nonie flush all the way to her ear tips before she pulled her hood low in embarrassment.

"T-t-thank y-you....." She managed to say, her stomach in turmoil. She almost didn't hear the last bit, but caught enough to know that the girl's offer still stood. Nonie really didn't want to run into those men again, and she might not be as lucky this time. And obviously this girl meant her no harm, right? She'd be safe this time, right? Nonie didn't want to.... To have to.... No no no that wouldn't happen again. Not this time. This girl wouldn't right? Nonie's stomach clenched in complete terror at the idea, but her brain worked to calm it down. She had to rest anyways. She'd be better off taking her chances with the girl. Finally, stomach chilled as ice, Nonie nodded. "......O-ok."

[Casey Pryor]

Casey felt herself relaxing emotionally just a bit more as Red said thank you. She didn't rush the girl for an answer to her proposal. Reds shyness and uncertainty made more sense to Casey knowing that she was homeless. It also made Casey feel really bad and want to help her so much. She really didn't know how though, other then offering her a place tonight. Maybe she could let Red raid her closet and take a few things with her when she left, with winter closing in fast now. Maybe she could find a way to get a hold of Red every once in a while and give her baskets with assorted items that'd make it a little easier being homeless.

Casey focused on Red again as she seemed to hesitantly accept her offer of a place to sleep that night. With a bright, but nervous smile, Casey stood, brushing off her pants and pulling her jacket down. She wasn't sure if Red would need help up so offered her hand, "Need a hand up?" she asked softly?

Once Red was up and ready to walk, Casey headed inside, walking just barely in front of Red to lead the way but still able to see the girl out of the corner of her eye. It took them a few minutes to reach the entrance to the dorms and the whole walk Casey felt a bit more alert and nervous having someone walking behind her. Red was a stranger after all. Though honestly, Casey was more scared of getting stopped by a teacher or other adult and Red being kicked out. Then about a minute or so later the two were walking into Casey's dorm. 

She let out a big breath of relief as they entered and the door was shut behind them. There was a soft light left on in the kitchenette area that Casey had turned on when she left for her walk. She gave Red an encouraging smile. "Welcome to my home. Well, kinda home. My Mom's place is much more homier then this," she said a bit rambly. She cleared her throat as she took off her coat and hung it on a coat rack that stood by the door. She folded her hands together, the thumbs rolling over and over each other nervously. "Obviously this is the kitchen area and living room area; just one great big space. The four doors lead into bedrooms. The door 2nd from the left," she reached up and pointed to a door with her name spelled out in cut out letters and pictures of the moon taped to it, "is mine. There's a bathroom in there too. You're welcome to any food or drink you see unless it has a name on it. If the names Casey, go ahead and have it, otherwise probably just avoid it," she said. 

Casey walked into the kitchen, opened a cupboard and pulled down a glass for herself, then turned to Red. "Would you like something to drink? There's water, obviously. I also have orange juice in the fridge."

[Nonie Savage]

When Nonie finally gave her answer, stomach full of ice cubes and freezing with dread, the girl offered her a smile and offered her hand. Returning the smile with her own shy, slightly terrified one, Nonie hesitantly accepted the hand and pulled herself up. Brushing herself off and pulling a few twigs off her hoodie, Nonie nervously followed the girl towards the school. she was still incredibly scared about the whole thing. Her eyes darted around as they walked, scanning for the appearance of anyone else who might potentially come along. This girl was being kind, Nonie knew that. However the redhead was concerned that if another person caught the two that she'd be kicked out and possibly run into those drunks again. The though of that was enough to make Nonie keep a little closer to Casey.

Eventually they got indoors, and Nonie had to look around in sheer wonder. It was so.... nice didn't really cut it. Nonie had never been inside somewhere that looked so neat and clean and... fancy? That still didn't quite seem like it fit, but Nonie couldn't really think of anything else to use to describe the inside. Her eyes wandered while they walked through the halls, both scanning for others and just taking in everything around her in slight awe. Never in her entire life did she imagine being inside of a place quite like this. Yet they eventually reached their destination and Casey shut the door behind them, welcoming Nonie in. The redhead had to gaze around, still impressed by basically everything. "It's so......" She trailed off and eventually just shook her head, still unable to describe it properly.

Casey also explained the room, pointing out a few things for Nonie to understand. She nodded her head but only shuffled forward a little bit, feeling completely out of her element. She didn't want to touch anything for fear of getting it dirty. Everything was just so clean and new looking, she hardly though she belonged within a mile of this place. But then Casey was asking her a question and Nonie's attention returned to her. "Oh! Um... w-water would be fine." She said. She already felt bad that she was there, and might possibly dirty something just by touching it.